TheCapitan Grande Reservation is aKumeyaayIndian reservation inSan Diego County, California, jointly controlled by theBarona Group of Capitan Grande Band of Mission Indians and theViejas Group of Capitan Grande Band of Mission Indians. The reservation is uninhabited and is 15,753 acres (63.75 km²) large,^[1] located in theCuyamaca Mountains and middle ofCleveland National Forest and west ofCuyamaca Peak.^[2] The closest town isAlpine, California.^[3]

The reservation was created by PresidentUlysses S. Grant, via executive order in 1875 for local Kumeyaay people.^[1] Its name comes from the SpanishCoapan, which was what the area west of theSan Diego River was called in the 19th century. The dry, mountainous andchaparral lands proved inhospitable.^[2]

In 1931, the state flooded the heart of the reservation, creatingEl Capitan Reservoir.^[3] Many Kumeyaay families had homes in the flood zone, and they petitioned Congress to prevent the loss of their land; however, Congress gave San Diego the right to buy the land without the local Kumeyaays' knowledge or consent.^[4] The two tribes, Barona and Viejas, were forced to sell the land and with their proceeds they purchased their current reservations, theBarona Reservation andViejas Reservation, respectively.^[2]

In 1973, seven people lived on the reservation.^[5]

Today, the two tribes have a joint-trust patent of the remaining reservation.^[4] It is undeveloped but serves as an ecological preserve.^[2]

• Pritzker, Barry M. (2000).A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and Peoples. Oxford University Press.ISBN 978-0-19513-877-1.
• Eargle, Dolan H. Jr. (1992).California Indian Country: The Land & the People. San Francisco: Tree Company Press.ISBN 978-0-93740-120-0.
• Shipek, Florence C. (1978). "History of Southern California Mission Indians". InHeizer, Robert F. (ed.).Handbook of North American Indians. Vol. 8: California. Washington, DC:Smithsonian Institution. pp. 610–618.ISBN 978-0-16004-574-5.

• Barona Band of Mission Indians, official website
• Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians, official website

32°55′33.54″N116°43′45.58″W / 32.9259833°N 116.7293278°W /32.9259833; -116.7293278

• American Indian reservations in California
• Cuyamaca Mountains
• East County (San Diego County)
• 1875 establishments in California
• Kumeyaay populated places
• Former Native American populated places in California
• Barona Group of Capitan Grande Band of Mission Indians
• Viejas Group of Capitan Grande Band of Mission Indians

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• Coordinates on Wikidata